Rare Books & Archives Request Form

Purpose of this form

Please use the form below to request rare rooks, pamphlets, and archival materials to be consulted in the library’s 3rd floor Special Collections Reading Room. In-person and phone requests are not accepted. Cataloged rare books, pamphlets, and manuscripts (found in CLIO) and fully processed archival collections (which are collections with a finding aid on the Archives page) may be requested for consultation.

Making your request

Please make your request as far in advance as is possible. At least one business day's notice is required for the paging of rare and archival materials (e.g., items requested at 2 p.m. on Monday will be available by 2 p.m. on Tuesday; items requested over the weekend will be available on Tuesday). Up to 6 items or 6 archival boxes may be requested per appointment. Please contact the Archivist directly before making an appointment to consult unprocessed archives. The hours for the Special Collections Reading Room are M-F, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. and 2 - 4:30 p.m. Please be sure and specify a time for your appointment.

Planning your visit

After you submit your request, a staff member will e-mail you to confirm your appointment. Please do not travel to the library until you have received this confirmation. Before your visit, library staff will approve your access to the Burke Library by notifying the Library Information Office (LIO) in Columbia’s Butler Library. In your confirmation e-mail, you will receive instructions for how to obtain a temporary reader's card from the LIO, which is located five blocks from the Burke Library on the main Columbia campus. This card can be obtained on the day of your visit or in advance.

Directions

For directions to the Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, please see here. You may also wish to consult a map of Columbia University's main campus, where the Library Information Office (LIO) is located.